According to a report by Xinhua news agency, Mr Yang, who was China’s first man space in 2003, told a group interview that “it will not take long for the project to get official approval and funding.”

The report did not provide any specific date.

It continued: “Wu Yansheng, president of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), also said that China is working on a manned lunar landing plan.”

The mission will consist of a manned spaceship, a propulsion vehicle and a lunar lander, Xinhua said, citing Mr Wu.

China in 2003 became the third country to put a man in space with its own rocket after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

China landed an unmanned spacecraft on the moon in in December 2013. This picture of the moon's surface, taken by the on-board camera of the lunar probe Chang'e-3, is displayed on the screen of the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre

The country also plans to land the first probe ever on the dark side of the moon in 2018, another milestone.

An official said last year that China aims to land a man on the moon by 2036.

China’s spece program is seen as a symbol of the country's rising global stature and technological advancement, as well as the Communist Party's success in reversing the fortunes of the once impoverished nation.